The New York City Department of Education is “fighting like hell” to save preschool, 3K and other popular programs from budget cuts as officials scramble to replenish tens of millions of dollars in depleted federal coronavirus funds. School Superintendent David Banks said Monday.
The head of the Department of Education is in trouble with the City Council over what, if any, the agency plans to do to salvage a host of initiatives backed by a $93 million stimulus package that expires on June 30. was fiercely pursued.
“It’s a tough seat,” Banks testified. “Because we recognize that even though we have great programs, we don’t necessarily have enough funding to support them.”
“I have personally been in deep conversations with the mayor and the mayor’s office since I was a young child,” he told council members. “Perhaps this clears up any remaining questions, but I am fighting tooth and nail to ensure these cuts are restored.”
During the same City Council Education Committee budget hearing, Bankers doubled down on his previous request for more funding for Albany to help the city comply with new class size mandates enacted by the state.
“We are in the midst of a national teacher shortage, and in order to meet this law we would essentially have to triple the amount of teacher employment,” Banks testified, adding that the DOE is They added that they also needed more “physical space” to do so. additional classes.
To meet the requirements of the Class Size Act, the DOE needs about $20 billion in capital improvements and to triple teacher employment rates, school superintendents said.
Banks had previously warned that some school programs would suffer in the coming years because of the costly mandates.
Amid a series of citywide budget cuts, the city’s free universal preschool and 3K classes, funded by soon-to-expire stimulus cash, each face potential cuts of $170 million overall this fiscal year. facing.
Other programs are also at risk of being cut as a result of budget cuts to offset soaring costs from the immigration crisis, with the Big Apple set to return $10 billion by next fiscal year.
In his testimony, Banks acknowledged that the question of where the money would come from to fund the popular school program remains an open question.
“We want you to know that we share everyone’s concerns about early childhood. This is a top priority for us,” he told councilors. .
He did not elaborate further, but added: “I’m confident we’ll get some really good early childhood news in the coming weeks.”
